Numerous types of seats and saddles have been developed for use with devices such as bicycles, exercise machines, mopeds or motorcycles in which a rider is supported in the seated position and must substantially straddle the device. The main function of the seat in such devices is to support the user while providing as much comfort as possible.
Many seats, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,881,136 and 656,854, utilize various springs in support of the seat to provide shock absorption. In addition, typical seats have a one-piece wide rear portion which narrows in the front, with the one-piece rear portion designed to provide most of the support for the user. To increase the comfort, it is advantageous to provide as large a seating area in the rear of the seat as possible. A wide rear seating area, however, makes it difficult for the user to mount and dismount the seat. To minimize this problem, many seats have a relatively small rear seating area, resulting in reduced support and comfort for the rider.
An attempted solution to this problem is to have movable side extensions stored underneath the seat. British Patent No. 8579 illustrates such a seat having lateral seat extensions which are movable from a folded position underneath the main seat section to an extended position adjacent the rear portion of the main seat section. With this design, however, the rider must first mount the bike and then manually extend the seat extensions, which could prove difficult and/or dangerous in practice. In addition, the seat extensions must be manually retracted before the rider dismounts the bicycle which also could cause problems.